Out and About in NYC

Menu

Tag Archives: New York Magazine

All around the country people are rushing to find the perfect holiday gifts for their friends and family; they are running through the aisles of Walmarts and department stores and shopping online at Amazon. Here in The Big Apple we have a better way to buy gifts. The way we shop? Craft fairs my darlings, craft fairs. Our fine city is a treasure trove of artists and artisans who can provide you with everything from scratch ‘n sniff holiday cards to one-of-a-kind jewelry, not to mention all the best munchies imaginable!

If you missed Craftacular last week I apologize; I should have given you a heads up. Luckily most of the vendors also sell in select stores and on Etsy so you still have a chance to pick up my favorites: beautiful purses by Shara Porter, heavenly bath products by Lee-lai and stunning dresses by Les Enfants Sauvages.

3rd Ward’s Handmade Holiday Craft Fair this Saturday is likely to be one of the biggest hits of the season. Even if you don’t find gifts you’ll get to enjoy live music from Raya Brass Band. On top of all the vendors and the music there will be free demos and workshops including:

Handmade Skincare, Wire Wrapping: Making Old Jewelery New, DIY Printing Methods, Heat Printing on Fabrics, How to Make your own Textiles with Textile Arts Center and more!

The holiday season is also the time for pop-up shops! New York Magazine has compiled an excellent list of the temporary shops that you’ll want to check out before they disappear! I am particularly excited about anything that has anything to do with Papabubble; their candy is truly “too pretty to eat” (Carnival- I know I’m a dork).

Candy by Papabubble

If you need to get your unique hand-made gifts on the run there are tent cities set up at a few major crossroads. The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park contain all manner of goodies, though they tend towards the pricier end of things. The Grand Central Holiday Fair is a madhouse but holds some hidden gems. The Columbus Circle Holiday Market offers the added bonus of an information booth with a helpful concierge to guide your shopping, plus since it’s located right on Central Park you can stroll through our very own Winter Wonderland post-shopping. Finally the Union Sq. Holiday Market offers a range of goodies, from Belgian liege waffles to bath products shaped like cupcakes!

If you’re truly at a loss for what to give, this weekend at 303 Grand you can have a psychic chose a wrapped mystery gift for you. I kid you not, this is New York kids.

Finally, mark your calendars- next weekend is the Brooklyn Lyceum Craft Market. If you go be sure to check out the jewelry by Kimlast, whoever you buy it for will appreciate its extra special flare.

Golden Reef Handcarved Pendant by Kimlast

Happy shopping! Stay tuned for news of upcoming events and follow me on twitter for the very latest!

In the next few days many of you will be traveling to spend this gluttonous holiday with loved ones (or loved ones once removed) around the country. Therefore the next couple of nights should be packed with excellent NYC madness so that you can dazzle your relatives with tales of your life on the wild side.

Tonight slip on some skates ahead of the pack; the rink at Rockefeller Center is open and the lines will only get worse from now on!

Rockefeller Center

You have six chances to catch Jacqui Naylor at the Blue Note this week; this young lady’s interpretative capabilities and wide vocal range make hers an act you have to hear to believe. She’s also debuting eleven year-old Matt Wong on piano and guitar; there is nothing like a prodigy to add some absurdity to your night.

Starting Dec. 1, you also have six chances to catch Sex Crimes Cabaret; “SEX CRIMES navigates amazing but true sexual legislation, taboos and history in a scintillating, multi-media cabaret.”

Wednesday afternoon head over to 77th & 81st Streets between Central Park West & Columbus Ave to watch the balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade inflate! I’ve watched before and there is really nothing like seeing an enormous Mr. Potato Head slowly emerge from a puddle of plastic- that is magic in action!

Wednesday night if you’re still in town there’s a monster loft party that your Aunt Esther will never believe- Urban Gypsy Circus:

Ok, that’s all for the moment but I’ve been doing a lot of tweeting lately so if you’re not following me or reading the sidebar you’re missing out on all sorts of news! Plus you’ll miss the play-by-play as I attempt to create Pumpkin Crème Brûlée in G’s mother’s kitchen.

What’s that I hear? It’s excellent new music playing at one of the venues right here in The Big Red Apple! Our fine city has always drawn talent from all over, giving New Yorkers access to the best and the brightest! Check out this NYMag article for their take on the music of the moment, then go to Bandloop to monitor your new favorite bands!

On Sunday Art Brut will be playing their slacker rock at the Bowery Ballroom. Their song ‘Summer Job’ was my anthem this summer:

Double shifts and early starts/I spent the morning hiding in the carpark/Oh yeah, I’m so laissez-faire/Sometimes I’m not even there/If you want me sober and straight/I’m afraid I’m gonna be a little bit late/Get another job/Get another job/Just a summer job…/Fire me, give me the sack/Bare feet on warm tarmac

Once again we have a super stuffed weekend coming up, not to mention the days before and after! I’ll admit as one of the funemployed I fail to recall what day of the week it is most of the time…

Tonight, as I’ve told you already, I’ll be at Comix to see the Raspberry Bros do their thing to The Breakfast Club (plus participate in the John Hughes sing-a-long). If you’d like to join buy your tiks in advance using the code RASP and they’re just $5 ($15 at the door)!

Tomorrow is ‘Fashion’s Night Out‘- an advertising ploy by Vogue and the rest of the fashion industry to get you to shop before they all go broke (the blurb in the Sept. issue of Vogue says “don’t you miss shopping?”). There are innumerable sales and events involved; my pick is champagne fueled lingerie shopping at Kiki de Montparnasse (starts at 8pm).

Four hundred years ago a Dutch ship called the Half Moon, guided by Henry Hudson, reached the shores of Manhattan. This week the Dutch are celebrating that historic landing and all that’s followed it with a slew of exciting events! I’ll admit I’m at a loss to choose between the explorations of Dutch culture, the environmental lectures, the sports and the historical events. However, the big three are The Flying Dutchman Sailing Race, the NiEuW Amersterdam Restaurant Week and the New Amsterdam Market. The Restaurant Week runs from Sept. 5 to the 20th; participating restaurants are offering prix fixe menus for $24- the amount Hudson paid for Manhattan (now THAT’s inflation!). I recommend Bachas, Bar Tabac and Resto! The New Amsterdam Market is your standard farmers market but with the additon of various workshops and events (for example ‘drink with Henry Hudson’). Embrace your inner Dutchman!

New Amsterdam Market

If your favorite part about the Dutch is their beer you’ll be glad to know it’s also NY Craft Beer Week from Sept. 11 to the 20th! This year’s NY Craft Beer Week includes 83 different venues featuring 162 unique beers throughout the five boroughs. There are also all sorts of events such as beer “strolls,” “walks” and “crawls” (I find the distinction in naming quite intriguing…). Get out and take your knowledge and appreciation of this fine form of alcohol to a whole new level!

If you can’t pay tribute to John Hughes tonight you have another chance Thursday night- Cattle Call Tribute to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This event is highly participatory so you should only go if you want to be part of the show! Audience members will reenact their favorite scenes from the film with some dubious direction; do you have what it takes to be Ferris? Here’s a clip to remind you of the size of the shoes you’re trying to fill…

This weekend previews for A Steady Rain begin at The Schoenfeld Theatre. This is Daniel Craig’s Broadway debut and the general feeling seems to be that he is likely to be terrible, but hey, you never know, especially with Hugh Jackman around. Here’s a panel from an excellent cartoon in New York Magazine that perfectly sums of the problem:

Friday night Flux Factory is throwing the dance party to end all dance parties; there will be DJs, bands, installation art, weird performers and much much more, ALL ON A BOAT.

Starting this Sunday Philip Seymour Hoffman is back on stage in The Public Theater’s production of Othello. He’ll be playing alongside John Ortiz in what is certain to be one of the most memorable productions of this challenging play. Get your tickets now before the critics start raving in earnest.

From Sept. 22 to Oct. 3rd New York City Center will host some of the most creative and talented dancers from around the world. Not only that but the tickets to these marvelous performances, all part of the annual Fall For Dance Festival, are just $10 each! The catch? Well, the catch is that this Sunday you’d better get up early and join me on line to get your tickets as soon as they go on sale!

Competitive cookoff gurus Theo Peck and Nick Suarez, present to you the Brooklyn Cheese Experiment, a cheese cookoff and homebrew-off of epic proportion. Amateur chefs will whip up their favorite cheese-based dishes ranging from sweet to savory, while local homebrewers pit their home made brews against each other in Brooklyn’s premier culinary competition. The audience will vote for their favorites along with a judging panel of highly touted cheese and beer aficionados. Prizes and cash will ceremoniously be given away to those who strive for cookoff glory. Do you have what it takes to compete?

Sunday is also the most anticipated literary event of the year- The Brooklyn Book Festival! Last year I came unprepared and failed to make strategic choices when waiting on line for tickets to readings. This year if I’m able to make it out there post-FFD ticket line (so unfair that these are the same day!) I’ll follow Brooklyn Based Cheat Sheet!

Can you believe it, our little country another year older? Last year I spent July 4th in Roswell, NM where the Honey Bear Dancers put on a show worthy of our great nation; here’s a video for your viewing pleasure (Happy 4th of July!):

Aren’t you glad you’re in NYC and not Roswell, NM? Haha. Well, there are some great things for you to do here this weekend (though none of them involves the Redneck Woman song– as far as I know). I’ve already posted some great events for Thursday.

From free events like Smash the Church, Smash the State: A Queer Vision of Independence (co-presented by Bluestockings and City Lights Books) to the pointed and provocative work of artists like Arcade, Dorsey, Bornstein and Justin Bond and shows like The Mattachine Project and the Baraka de Soleil curated Black-Out, HOT! Festival strives to provide a platform for art and ideas that embody progressive and uniquely queer voices.

For more questionable theater this week and next you can head to the Joyce Theater to see the Umbilical Brothers “mimic every sound imaginable, creating a warped world where they whip up another uproarious fiesta of carefully choreographed mayhem.” F just saw their show and said it was hilarious; after seeing this video I can see why:

Onstage, the band’s chemistry fuses the bonafides of gospel with the fiery theatrics of early punk rock, as if Atche invokes the haunted vocal grooves from Archie Shepp’s “Attica Blues,” bolstered by strained rhythms echoing the DKs’ “Holiday in Cambodia.” All of that’s wrapped in a handsome wardrobe, and instilled with a techno flow that colludes the deviating sounds.

Head out there and judge for yourself.

On Saturday you have many options for celebrating the birth of our country (messy and imperfect but still inspiring in its absurdity).

Union Hall is celebrating our more esoteric athletic pursuits with a bocce ball tournament! There will also be karaoke and burgers (for the less athletic amongst us).

If it’s dancing you want Studio B is the place to be; there will be different DJs on both of the two floors as well as DJs spinning on the open rooftop- get down like it’s 1776.

For most of us July 4th means fireworks and while in NM pretty much anyone can set off their own (in their backyard, on the road in front of their house, in the middle of the highway…), in NYC it’s all about being in the right spot to see them. New York Magazine has some great tips; I second their West Side Highway suggestion.

On Sunday laze around the Brooklyn Yard; the weekly Sunday Best series will include guest DJ Losoul this week. Here’s a shot from one of last year’s events: